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Germany's moment beckons at Wembley: looks ahead to the eagerly anticipated all-German U...

Sir John Kirwan has made two changes to his Blues side ahead of Saturday's Super Rugby clash with the Brumbies in Auckland.

Timmy Duggan won the 2012 U.S. road title with a brash, solo attack. Along with women's champion Megan Guarnier, he'll look to repeat on Monday. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.comThe new-look U.S. professional road championships are set to kick off on Saturday in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with wide-open men’s and women’s fields, equal prizes, and live video coverage. National champions Megan Guarnier (Rabobank) and Timmy Duggan (Saxo-Tinkoff) face tall orders in their repeat bids, but a win in Chattanooga could be the highest profile national title since the race moved out of Philadelphia almost a decade ago. After seven years in Greenville, South Carolina, the Volkswagen USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships will debut in Chattanooga this weekend. The event, the first in which the men’s and women’s professional races will coincide at the same location, promises fans both twice the action and unprecedented broadcast coverage — including a live telecast of the men’s road race and streaming online and mobile coverage of both events. The men’s and women’s time trials will be held Saturday, May 25, with road races scheduled for Monday, May 27. Defending road race champions Duggan and Guarnier will both be on hand to defend their distinctive champions’ jerseys, each adorned with the stars and stripes of the United States. They’ll be fighting for the same prize money as well, as the event is offering equal payouts to the top 20 in each race. Despite its new locale, the road course features a familiar format, with beginning and ending circuits through downtown Chattanooga separated by 16.1-mile laps, each including a three-mile climb of Lookout Mountain (1,150 feet of elevation gain). The men will complete the climb four times for a total distance of 100.6 miles, with the women completing two laps (63.1 miles). Though eager to stage a defense of his title, Duggan admitted his year in the stars and stripes has been less than ideal. The Saxo rider, a resident of Nederland, Colorado, suffered a broken tibia and collarbone during stage 3 of January’s Santos Tour Down Under. Early season injuries aside, Duggan considers Monday’s defense a major priority. “Winning the national championship has meant a lot to me,” he told VeloNews. “It’s an honor you’re reminded of each day when you put that jersey on. I’m sure hoping to win again in Chattanooga. I do not want to give my jersey back.” Duggan returned to racing at April’s Presidential Tour of Turkey and arrives in Tennessee fresh off of the Amgen Tour of California. Like her male counterpart, women’s road champion Megan Guarnier plans a vigorous, albeit solo, defense. In late 2012, the New York native became the first American woman to sign with the Rabobank squad of world champion and Olympic gold medalist Marianne Vos. For Guarnier, who was named to the long team for the 2012 Summer Olympics — but ultimately not to the team — the chance to wear the stars and stripes was an opportunity to regain her confidence. “It was an emotional roller coaster of a year, but wearing that jersey has been amazing,” she said. “There’s a lot to road racing that’s unpredictable. [Winning again] will be hard, but I’ve come to Chattanooga to give it my best.” Though they’ve never met, the defending road champions will share more than a jersey this weekend. Each is the lone American representative for a European squad. In Guarnier’s case, this means her Tennessee support team consists of a party of one: her fiancé. Duggan, who will also be without his team’s logistical support, has made plans to partner with former Cannondale teammate Ted King and 2011 champion Matthew Busche (RadioShack-Leopard) — all three are without teammates, with RadioShack’s Chris Horner and 2010 champion Ben King set to miss the race with injuries. But don’t expect the loose alliance the trio have dubbed “Team No Team” to extend to the road. Busche told VeloNews that all bets

Dallas Cowboys News and Notes: Brent In Court, Matt Johnson Healthy, More

Every time I've got myself convinced that the San Francisco 49ers will be fine without Michael Crabtree, I see a video of him making a great play, or a still image of him in the midst of a great catch. Crabtree hasn't yet had blow-you-away stats, but the guy made some incredibly clutch catches last year and missing that is what I'm worried about. Colin Kaepernick will have plenty of touchdowns, some receivers will step up and we'll have the yardage that Crabtree would have brought. What I'm worried about are those really clutch catches -- who will replicate that? I'm hoping that between Mario Manningham and Anquan Boldin, we get enough clutch-ness. Most of all, tight end Vernon Davis rebounding and having a great year would just be swell, wouldn't it? Anyway, some more rookies signed, OTAs are going, the 49ers are awesome and all that jazz. Onto your links for the day. At the end of the day, I do think the 49ers will be fine without Crabtree. At worst, they have a top two pairing of wide receivers who we know can put up decent production and at best, we have a trio of young, explosive pass-catchers showing each other up week-in and week-out. | Michael Crabtree injury: How 49ers will respond to loss of WR (Brady) The 49ers got to work on their second-round picks yesterday, signing both tight end Vance McDonald and defensive end Tank Carradine. I gotta say, I'm really excited for both players, though I expect McDonald to have more of an impact this season, especially following Crabtree's injury. I mean, provided these guys are all healthy, as it's getting kind of hard to remember who is and isn't hurt right now. | 49ers sign both second-round picks (Maiocco) If you're in the mood for even more stuff that has nothing to do with Crabtree or rookies signing their EXCITING CONTRACTS, why not blame some quarterbacks? We all do it for lots of things anyway, so let's start holding them accountable for some of those sacks. | When getting sacked is the quarterback's fault (BA Sports Guy) Crabtree aftermatch: Do you need great No. 1 WRs to win titles? There really is no recent correlation (Kawakami) 49ers' 90-man roster: Which receivers will step up (Maiocco) Bowman on ESPN: 'Guys are going to have to step up, and we have that type of team' (Inman) 49ers grant 'team voice' Ted Robinson five-year extension (CSN Bay Area) Manningham on his knee: 'I'm not rushing it but I am going hard on my knee' (Inman) Loss of Crabtree Will Force Kaepernick to Grow (NBC Bay Area) Crabtree's recovery route has several recent examples to follow (Inman) McDonald Enjoys Mentorship Role (49ers) Eric Reid Recaps First Week of OTAs (49ers) Kendall Hunter Works His Way Back(49ers)

Matt Johnson sees training regimen as culprit for hamstring injuries - DMNJohnson thinks his recurring hamstring injuries from last year could be a result of his weight-room routine, specifically the weight he was squatting. "We’ve done more hamstring work instead of putting on 400 pounds and squatting," Johnson said Tuesday after the Cowboys’ first organized team activity practice. "When I was in college, I did that some. When you get to the pros, and playing at safety, I don’t need to squat 500 pounds. We did more position specific and more dynamic work. You don’t need to be a bodybuilder to play football. I was big enough." So how much has Miles Austin been squatting? Broaddus: Backup RBs Making Most Of Reps; Rookie DT Impressive - DC.comBryan Broaddus with another summary of OTA activities, this time focusing on tight ends, linebackers and Anthony Armstrong in addition to the RBs and the DT mentioned in the title. Cowboys' Brent accused of tampering with alcohol-monitoring device - wfaa.comThis is serious. The Dallas County district attorney's office says that Brent missed two bond-supervision appointments and may have tampered with an electronic alcohol-monitoring device. The DA is asking that Brent's bond be revoked. Hearing is set for today at 8:45 CDT. Time table for possible Anthony Spencer deal - DMNRainer Sabin explains that the Cowboys have until mid-July to work out a deal with Spencer. If they don't get a deal done by then, Spencer plays out the year under the franchise tag. In his OTA review, Mike Fisher wrote that Kyle Orton struggled a little with his accuracy in the first OTAs, and that it would be helpful if the veteran would ramp it up. It could be a lot worse: Early thought on #Jets QB comp: Ugh. Sanchez 6-for-11, 3 INTs, 1 sack. (1 INT may have been a sack.) Geno Smith 3-for-10, 1 INT, 1 sack — Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) May 22, 2013 Here's our tentative schedule for today: 9:00 AM EDT: Archie Barberio has a write-up Brian Urlacher wanting to play for the Cowboys. 11:00 AM EDT: Tom Ryle looks at how Mo, Dez and Matt all worked to change/improve themselves physically in the offseason. 1:00 PM EDT: OCC reviews the Cowboys' young guns and proposes a list of the top 10 players under the age of 25 More stuff to follow after that. So check back later, we'll have new posts up throughout the day.

Short Sale Versus Foreclosure -

So everybody always has their "sleeper pick" in the draft. Like a good plumber, or lawyer, or car guy...everyone has that one guy in the draft that no one either knows much about or just doesnt generate enough buzz (usually for good reasons) but its the guy you want your team (or even just SOME team) to draft, a guy who can potentially validate whatever basketball knowledge you think you may have.... James Southerland is my guy, my sleeper pick, the guy I want the bulls to draft. Who is he? James Southerland is a 6'8 forward from syracuse who has just finished his senior year. Hes certainly one of the older potential rooks, already at age 23, and was considered to be M.C-W's assist guy (the guy who gave M.C-W the most assists by converting his passes into buckets). His senior year was by far his best year, he averaged 13.3 pts , 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and an assist per game all while shooting at 45% from the field (39.8% from 3pt land) in just under 30 minutes a night. This has been his breakout year, as in the previous year he only averaged about 16 minutes a night, and his freshman year he averaged half that.Hes a solid athlete (more on that later) and tested alright despite having 8%body fat (221lbs) What is he good at? Shooting. By far the thing Southerland excels at is shooting the long ball. Hes got very good length at 6'8 and as you can see from the videos below, has a very high and fairly quick release. Hes mostly known for his ability to catch and shoot, but hes got good feet and was known in his senior year to come off screens and knock down the midrange jumper as well as the 3 ball. He was one of the better defenders in the Syracuses zone heavy defense, though its hard for scouts to predict how that translates to the nba. For what its worth he scored the second highest lane agility test for a sf, at 10.9 seconds, which isnt extremely awesome, but it just means he has the tools to be a solid defender (also has a wingspan of 7'1 and a standing reach of 8'10) What is he Bad at? While hes no slouch of an athlete, the 8% body fat is sort of a flag. Hes also extremely streaky, sometimes he looked like a stud who cant miss, and sometimes he has no idea how to find the bottom of the net. Hes a shooter through and throughout, and regardless of whether hes hitting or missing, he has the confidence and desire to shoot, shoot and shoot some more. Many scouts wonder if hes a good defender or not because his teams played heavy zone. They also wonder if he would have the speed needed to be considered a sf in the nba, since in college he was used as a pf quite often. How does he fit with the bulls? As a bench sf, i think southerland fits a niche that the bulls have been missing since korver was let go. A sf shooting specialist. I honestly think that after Crabbe, Southerland is the best for that niche. He has a fairly high floor, and if he can shed some of that body fat and continue to increase his speed, thibs can make him a good 3 and d guy. He is probably never going to be a star, but if he can be the specialist that we thought cook could be (which i feel is a real possibility) i think he can be a great rotation player on a very small rookie contract for the next few years. Where do you think he will be drafted? I think he might go earlier than the bulls pick in the second round, i say he goes somewhere around the 47th pick overall (give or take 2). Link Dump: NBADraft.net profile DraftExpress profile One Mans Opinion Highlights against Louisville Trying to keep his team in the game 1 Trying to keep his team in the game pt 2 (both of these combined show that he has a desire to win) General Highlight reel (check out that stroke) So what do you guys think, and what are your sleeper picks in this upcoming draft? So everybody always has their "sleeper pick" in the draft. Like a good plumber, or lawyer, or car guy...everyone has that one guy in the draft that no one either knows much about o

A few weeks ago, to celebrate the Paris Marathon, I posted some of the most commonly used* runners phrases translated into French. Continuing in that linguistic vein, I thought it might be nice to put together some more phrases, this time intended to break down the language barrier between runner and non-runner. So feel free to show this to your long-suffering wife, husband, partner, colleagues, postman, or anyone else you like to bore and bemuse with talk of PBs, Splits and marathon-ness. We say: “It’s a well-known scientific fact that you should change your running shoes after 500 miles to avoid injury” We mean: “The shoes I like have just been released in a new colour” We say: “I really maxed my lactate threshold during last night’s 5k tempo” We mean: “I went for a run last night” We say: “I tried for a negative split, but overcooked it early on and now my ITB hates me” We mean: “I went for a run last night” We say: “I went for a run last night” We mean: “Okay, you caught me out. I spent the evening in a seedy hotel with a trio of broad-minded Swedish cheerleaders and a large tub of brandy butter” We say: “I think we deserve a holiday. I’ve heard that has some lovely beaches, and Tripadvisor.com described it as one of the most romantic getaways in the world” We mean: “I’ve just spent three hours looking at Google earth, and has some awesome trails” We say: “The marathon stick and foam roller are both excellent tools for achieving self-myofascial release, and will help prevent injury” We mean: “I know these things look like giant sex toys. Stop looking at me like that” We say: “This new head torch has a really wide throw and an output of 300 lumens. I need it for my night runs to avoid tree roots, potholes and low-hanging branches” We mean: “This new head torch has a really wide throw and an output of 300 lumens. I need it for my night runs to avoid tree roots, potholes and low-hanging branches. But mainly I’m just scared of werewolves.” We say: “I realise that an £80 entry fee might sound expensive , but you have to appreciate that it’s famous for being a really technical course while still retaining fantastic PB potential” We mean: “There’s a race. I heard that last year they had some really nice fudge in the goody bags. I like fudge” We say: “So anyway, how are you?” We mean: “I really want you to ask me about this medal I’ve been wearing for the last three days” * if you’re a bit odd. Lovely readers, a gentle reminder that you can follow me on the twitter (@borntoplodblog) or on my new-ish Facebook page. Other contact details are in the contacts section above, strangely enough. More from The Running Bug Dictionary of Running Words pt 1 Thunderstruck pt 1 FThunderstruck pt 2 Get Out of My Way!!! Like most other hobbies, sports and warlike Star Trek aliens, running has its own lexicon. (or, My Long-Winded and Largely Off-Topic Race Report of the Adidas 24hr Thunder Run 2012) (or, The Second Instalment of My Long-Winded and Largely Off-Topic Race Report of the Adidas 24hr Thunder Run 2012) A lot of stuff has been written about how we interact with our fellow runners. New to the Running Bug? We're the online community for runners with over 120,000 members! Join today - it's free and easy - and you'll get access to all our running events, training schedules and advice, shop, groups, blogs and forums. You will also be able to share and communicate with the running community in bugmiles and the great debate. JOIN THE RUNNING BUG HERE! It's free and takes just 30 seconds.

It's been chucking it down all night so there's no chance of racing today. read more